Do Consumers Trust Auto Dealers?; Auto Industry to Release New Survey Probing the Dealer-Customer Relationship

  What:    Do consumers trust their franchise new car dealers, salespeople
           and financing representatives?  How does trust in dealerships
           stack up against other industries, such as law enforcement,
           insurance, health care -- and the news media?  And how can
           consumers get a perspective on the recent plethora of research on
           the car buying experience?

           ART commissioned Harris Interactive to examine trust and other
           measures of the dealer-customer relationship.  Don't miss this
           in-depth look at how Americans -- with a focus on women and
           minorities -- view the car buying experience at today's auto
           dealerships.  We'll also contrast how other surveys trade on
           outdated stereotypes of dealers and reveal what customers
           actually say about the car buying process.

           Today, new vehicle buyers arrive in showrooms smarter and better
           prepared to discuss what they want.  The auto retailing industry
           embraces this heightened participation, and emphasizes full
           disclosure and openness as trust-building factors.  To further
           this goal, ART will release top car-buying tips and links to
           industry and third-party resources to help prospective buyers
           make savvy purchases.

  When:    Sunday, January 30, 2005 at 1:00 PM (Central Standard Time)

  Who:     Alan Starling, Chairman, Automotive Retailing Today
           Maury Giles, Vice President, Harris Interactive
           Denise Patton-Pace, Executive Director and Vice President,
             Automotive Retailing Today

  Where:   Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 257
           900 Convention Center Blvd
           New Orleans, LA